With all things agricultural, changing anything is apt to produce
unexpected results, and often not in accordance with the myths one is told.
 When I made some top bars with plastic foundation I was told that the bees
would make a horrible mess attaching them. They did, but a couple scrapings
trained them to cease the attachments, and I've got some combs as nice as
you could desire which the bees do not attach.

However, yesterday at lunchtime I was aroused by a roar from my apiary.  An
immense and impressive swarm was in the air, about to alight in a spruce
tree.  Since it might be difficult to extricate the swarm from so bushy a
tree, I immediately felled it, apparently killing the queen of the swarm,
which caused the swarm to return to its stand.

I always make sure that my combs are top notch to facilitate the finding
and cutting of swarm cells, so wondering how the little ladies could have
bamboozled me, I went in this morning to investigate.  Sure enough, since
the top bar combs lack end bars, both new and used cells were found
attached to the ends of the top bar combs, and not particularly visible
from the bottoms of the frames.

I saw as well a fine young queen, as pretty an animal as one might desire.
 Since this yard is the breeding yard, containing the best stock, no harm
was done, and a lesson was learned.   Bees are amusing.

Bill Morong